ICC FTP v3 Leak Speculation 2027-31 Cycle: Overview and Gaps

The third draft of the ICC Future Tours Programme for the 2027-31 cycle has leaked through Reuters and Cricbuzz channels in the past 10 days, with both outlets confirming the document is broadly consistent. The leak is unprecedented in its detail; the v3 draft covers all 12 full-member nations, includes proposed bilateral tour windows, ICC tournament hosting commitments, and a clause on equal-pay match-fee minimums that has been the most-discussed structural change in cricket governance for the past three years. Two-tier Test cricket talk is back in the document, with a proposed division-one and division-two structure that the ICC has not formally adopted but which has been retained for member-board discussion at the June 2026 AGM.

The leaked structure

The v3 document runs to 240 pages and covers four major sections. First, the bilateral tour matrix for all 12 full-member nations across the 2027-31 window, which shows where the major fixtures sit and which bilateral relationships have been compressed compared with the 2023-27 cycle. Second, the ICC tournament calendar, which formalises the Champions Trophy 2029 host (India), the T20 World Cup 2028 (USA-WI joint hosts), the ODI World Cup 2031 (Australia-New Zealand joint hosts), and the WTC Final 2027 (Lord's) and 2029 venue. Third, the two-tier Test discussion document, which sits as an appendix rather than the main body. Fourth, the equal-pay clause, which proposes minimum match-fee thresholds across men's and women's international cricket and is the most consequential governance change in the document.

Two-tier Test cricket and the division question

The two-tier proposal in the v3 leak is the same proposal that has been discussed across multiple ICC working groups since 2023. Division one would contain seven Test nations: India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, with promotion-relegation against a division two consisting of West Indies, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Ireland. The promotion-relegation mechanism would be based on a points-percentage system across a two-year cycle. The structural concern from the smaller boards is that division-two membership locks them out of high-revenue bilateral fixtures with India and England, which fund their member-board operations. The ICC has been clear that the proposal remains a discussion document; it is unlikely to be adopted in the 2027-31 cycle but the framework is being prepared for the 2031-35 cycle. Our cricket ireland test status push covers the relegation-risk side of this proposal.

The equal-pay clause

The equal-pay clause is the most consequential governance change in the v3 document. The proposal is a minimum match-fee threshold for all ICC sanctioned international cricket, with parity between men's and women's payments. The proposed thresholds are USD 6,000 per Test, USD 4,000 per ODI, and USD 2,500 per T20I, applied across all 12 full-member nations and all formats. The financial impact varies significantly by board; New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Ireland already pay close to parity, while the BCCI, ECB, and Cricket Australia pay multiples of these thresholds (with the gendered split varying). The smaller boards, particularly Cricket West Indies, Sri Lanka Cricket, and Bangladesh Cricket Board, have flagged budget concerns about meeting the women's parity threshold; the proposal includes a transition period of three years and an ICC central-revenue support fund.

Bilateral gaps and the calendar tension

The v3 bilateral matrix shows several gaps that have been pointed out by member boards. Pakistan's bilateral relationship with India is still on hold and not scheduled into the v3 draft (consistent with the 2023-27 cycle). West Indies' Test calendar is the most compressed, with only 14 Tests across the four-year window, which the CWI has flagged as inadequate for player development. Zimbabwe's bilateral calendar is the most expanded, with eight new Test fixtures including a maiden home Test series against Australia. Ireland's Test calendar grows to 12 Tests across the cycle, conditional on Test status being formally confirmed at the June 2027 AGM. The wider broadcast-rights tension is that the FTP shapes broadcast-rights cycles, and the aus broadcast rights tnt foxtel story shows how member boards are renegotiating commercial terms now.

Who benefits and who loses

Three winners and three losers from the v3 document. Winners: Ireland (Test calendar expansion), Zimbabwe (Test calendar expansion with major nations), Afghanistan (formal women's bilateral schedule for the first time). Losers: West Indies (Test calendar compression to 14 fixtures), Bangladesh (Test calendar reduction by two fixtures versus current cycle), Sri Lanka (no growth on the Indian bilateral relationship beyond the 2027 series). The equal-pay clause helps women's cricket players across all 12 nations, with the biggest absolute pay rise going to West Indies Women and Bangladesh Women. The two-tier Test proposal helps the seven division-one nations and hurts the five division-two candidates if it is ever adopted. The June 2026 AGM is the next governance milestone; full FTP adoption is expected at the October 2026 AGM. The olympic cricket la 2028 pathway overlap is the other major calendar-shaper for the 2027-31 cycle.